Go Set a Watchman

Eh, okay, I read all the controversy about whether or not Harper Lee actually wanted to publish this or not. I know a lot of my librarian friends opted not to read this at all because of their discomfort with the whole process, which I understand. But ultimately I was too curious to resist and I threw myself onto the library's long waitlist for this.When it came in for me, I was pleasantly surprised, because it's like... not terrible. It's funny and has some great dialogue. But, I'm also definitely on board with the “feels like an unpolished draft of To Kill a Mockingbird that wasn't meant to be published in this form” crowd. There are weird vignettes that don't seem to go anywhere.. almost like a short story collection with a frame narrative, but not quite that. But those stories were very charming and full of Scout's strong narrative voice, which made TKAM so endearing. It also refers back to the events of TKAM but in a slightly different form.Anyway, let's talk about the ~shocking reveal~ that Atticus is a racist. I... liked it? If you look back at Atticus in TKAM there is definitely a paternalistic quality there (um, I mean, not just because he's literally Scout's father). And his “oh I mean I don't think they should be LYNCHED anymore, no, but the NAACP is just taking things TOO FAR” attitude is pretty realistic for a 70-something white dude in the south in the 1950s.What didn't sit well with me was the end when Uncle Jack is like "listen Jean-Louise, you're the bigot because you're being so rigid and not considering Atticus's racist beliefs" and she's like "oh god you're right, I'm horrible." like... what? really? I don't know. But I did like the parts about how she'd held Atticus up as a perfect godlike figure and in order for her to grow up she had to break free from his opinions and form her own. anyway, no, this is not going to be the enduring classic that TKAM is, but there's some sharp character pieces here, and an interesting muddle of racial politics in the Jim Crow south. I would love for this to get the [b:Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography 22212838 Pioneer Girl The Annotated Autobiography Laura Ingalls Wilder https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416178689l/22212838.SX50.jpg 16270434] treatment with annotations and whatnot, because I think it's most interesting as a weird artifact rather than a standalone novel.–re-read for the pod:https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-228-go-set-a-watchman/